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Dog Point Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020

4.100000000 star rating 10 Reviews
Zesty, smart and refreshing New Zealand sauvignon from two Marlborough legends, Ivan Sutherland and James Healy. This is full of life and the perfect pick-me-up, with notes of lemon and a hint of gooseberry on the nose and a fresh, focused and grippy apple and lemon-laden palate.
is no longer available
Code: NZ12361

Wine characteristics

  • White Wine
  • 2 - Dry
  • Sauvignon Blanc
  • Now to 2025
  • 13% Alcohol
  • no oak influence
  • Screwcap
  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Organic
Play Video
Marlborough sauvignon, but not as we might know it! Buyer Freddy Bulmer tells us about Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc. Video transcript

Video transcript

Dog Point Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

One of the great wineries of New Zealand’s Marlborough region has to be Dog Point. Their wines are absolutely fantastic and no better than in a superb vintage like 2020. If you think you know Marlborough sauvignon, then think again – this is absolutely outstanding wine and, interestingly, is really really ageable too. Most Marlborough sauvignon is great when it’s fresh and young, but then starts to go downhill, but with a wine like this you can actually keep it for quite a few years as well. The nose is actually quite restrained for this style of wine: so you do get that kind of grassy, gooseberry kind of note, but it’s a lot about this delicious, complex, herbal character as well. The palate is fresh, but it’s not searing, it’s not too acidic. So it does make it actually a very, very smart Marlborough sauvignon. So if you perhaps have a Marlborough sauvignon lover in your life, but you’re not a fan of it yourself, then actually this is going to please you both! 

New Zealand

Still a baby when compared with other regions, New Zealand has quickly earned a reputation for top-quality wine. New Zealand might be a relative newcomer to the wine world (in 1960, the country had fewer than 400 hectares of vine) but its rise to pre-eminence is extraordinary. The precise, pure flavour of its wines has captured the attention of wine drinkers; Society sales certainly reflect this.

The country’s two islands cover a vast area from north to south (it is often quoted in wine books that if New Zealand was in the northern hemisphere, the country would stretch from North Africa to Paris). The maritime climate is influenced by the strong prevailing winds of the Pacific Ocean and the striking mountainous terrain. These factors give the islands a wide range of growing conditions; broadly speaking, the regions of the North Island tend to be warmer than the cooler South Island.

The cool New Zealand climate offers real opportunity for aromatic varieties like sauvignon blanc,...
Still a baby when compared with other regions, New Zealand has quickly earned a reputation for top-quality wine. New Zealand might be a relative newcomer to the wine world (in 1960, the country had fewer than 400 hectares of vine) but its rise to pre-eminence is extraordinary. The precise, pure flavour of its wines has captured the attention of wine drinkers; Society sales certainly reflect this.

The country’s two islands cover a vast area from north to south (it is often quoted in wine books that if New Zealand was in the northern hemisphere, the country would stretch from North Africa to Paris). The maritime climate is influenced by the strong prevailing winds of the Pacific Ocean and the striking mountainous terrain. These factors give the islands a wide range of growing conditions; broadly speaking, the regions of the North Island tend to be warmer than the cooler South Island.

The cool New Zealand climate offers real opportunity for aromatic varieties like sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot gris and gewurztraminer . Of the latter three, young plantings mean many styles rely more on sugar than fruit, which we avoid buying. But the very best share the intensity and palate weight of great Alsace examples with vibrant, lifted flavours. South Island’s Marlborough region is the benchmark setter for the former, and there are many pungently aromatic sauvignons that are stunning. Look out, too, for some of the exciting sub-regional wines – the Awatere is Marlborough’s coolest valley, now making really attractive, delicate and grassy wines, and Nelson across the hills is yielding superb wines from quality conscious producers like Neudorf.

The first sauvignon blanc vines were planted in Marlborough around 30 years ago, when most farmers were raising cattle or growing fruit. The wines have since taken the world by storm. Farms have been replaced by vineyards, and today, chardonnay and pinot also flourish in Marlborough’s cool climate. The choice is sensational, so is the consistency in quality. However, Marlborough is not only about sauvignon blanc and there are crisp, juicy chardonnays and ripe but balanced pinot noirs of excellence.

Further south is Central Otago, in the centre of the island. Pinot noir is something of a speciality here, though on the wrong site it can have difficulty reaching full maturity in this continental climate. The best seasons produce the country’s most dazzling examples of the grape, full-flavoured and superbly pure, and the greatest wines of this scenic region are in high demand around the world

The north island also boasts excellent wine regions. North of the city of Auckland there is the Bay of Islands where a unique microclimate helps winemakers produce some wonderful reds, and the Brajkovich family’s Kumeu River Estate, specialising in rich but elegant chardonnay, can be found just north-west of New Zealand's biggest city. Waiheke Island, just off the coast close to Auckland, also produces some excellent wines.

Hawkes Bay on the east coast of the North Island covers an extensive area of rolling hills, a sweep of coastline and the sharply dominant Te Mata Peak. The warm climate successfully ripens red grape varieties, the very best grown in the gravelly alluvial soils of the Gimblett Gravels appellation. Syrah is now adding its name to the roll call of successful varieties like cabernet and merlot. Chardonnay is well established here too, and the area makes some of New Zealand’s fullest and ripest examples.

Close to Wellington at the southern tip of the North Island is Martinborough, arguably New Zealand’s most exciting area for pinot noir. The long growing season is particularly suitable to the slow, gradual ripening that this Burgundian grape so enjoys.
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Dog Point

Marlborough’s Dog Point is a partnership between viticulturalist Ivan Sutherland and winemaker James Healy, both formerly of Cloudy Bay. After leaving Cloudy Bay the pair began making wine from fruit sourced from Sutherland’s own vineyards in the Wairau Valley. Abundant sunshine, low rainfall and cool autumn nights here make for a long grape growing season, enabling the slow evolution of a rich array of vibrant fruit flavours.

Dog Point produces a small but high-quality portfolio of four incredibly exciting wines. Their sauvignon blanc is beautifully elegant and fine-tasting with a stunning perfume. Section 94 is, unusually for Marlborough, a barrel-fermented sauvignon blanc which undergoes extended lees contact in older barrels. We regard it as New Zealand’s most distinctive sauvignon - the name comes from a specific plot known as section 94 on an early survey map of the area. The impressive chardonnay too sees some oak and is broad-flavoured yet restrained. Pinot noir is highly perfumed and stylish with a silky palate.

Grapes are hand-picked and winemaking is as natural as possible with only indigenous yeasts being used. The intention here is to remain a hands-on, boutique operation making regionally distinctive and vineyard-expressive wines.

Sustainability
Dog Point is New Zealand's largest certified organic vineyard by Biogro NZ. Conversion to organic production began in 2009. Numerous practices they have adopted include mulching runings and winery...

Marlborough’s Dog Point is a partnership between viticulturalist Ivan Sutherland and winemaker James Healy, both formerly of Cloudy Bay. After leaving Cloudy Bay the pair began making wine from fruit sourced from Sutherland’s own vineyards in the Wairau Valley. Abundant sunshine, low rainfall and cool autumn nights here make for a long grape growing season, enabling the slow evolution of a rich array of vibrant fruit flavours.

Dog Point produces a small but high-quality portfolio of four incredibly exciting wines. Their sauvignon blanc is beautifully elegant and fine-tasting with a stunning perfume. Section 94 is, unusually for Marlborough, a barrel-fermented sauvignon blanc which undergoes extended lees contact in older barrels. We regard it as New Zealand’s most distinctive sauvignon - the name comes from a specific plot known as section 94 on an early survey map of the area. The impressive chardonnay too sees some oak and is broad-flavoured yet restrained. Pinot noir is highly perfumed and stylish with a silky palate.

Grapes are hand-picked and winemaking is as natural as possible with only indigenous yeasts being used. The intention here is to remain a hands-on, boutique operation making regionally distinctive and vineyard-expressive wines.

Sustainability
Dog Point is New Zealand's largest certified organic vineyard by Biogro NZ. Conversion to organic production began in 2009. Numerous practices they have adopted include mulching runings and winery waste to create a healthy organic compost for use on plantings throughout the property. In spring, they plant cover crops such as buckwheat and phaecelia between the vines to encourage beneficial insects for biological control of insect pests. Their organic approach also means they do not use fossil fuel-based fertilisers which means that their soils store more carbon.

The estate is a biodiverse environment: as well as vines, trees and pinenut trees dot the landscape and are harvested each year. Over the winter months, 2,500 sheep and 25 steers are brought onto the property to control grass and weed growth and assist in adding organic matter to the soil. There are also some roving chickens, ducks, and a pig. Dog Point believe that the use of natural products throughout production provides a safe and happy work environment for their staff.

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Money Week

Ivan Sutherland and James Healy met at Cloudy Bay over three decades ago. Along with fellow wine legends Kevin Judd and David Hohnen, these visionary gentlemen put the sauvignon blanc grape variety on...

Ivan Sutherland and James Healy met at Cloudy Bay over three decades ago. Along with fellow wine legends Kevin Judd and David Hohnen, these visionary gentlemen put the sauvignon blanc grape variety on everyone’s lips.
Long before Cloudy Bay launched in the mid-Eighties, Ivan and his wife Margaret were among the earliest Marlborough wine industry pioneers planting grapes in the late 1970s. After leaving Cloudy Bay, the Sutherlands and Healys set up Dog Point Vineyard and launched this stellar label in 2004.
I have followed this brand from day one, and they have only ever released exemplary wines. With this extraordinary history, pioneering spirit and genuine influence on the whole of the wine world and its drinkers, it was exciting to read that Ivan highly rates the 2020 vintage.
“For overall fruit quality, this is one of the best I have experienced in over 30 years in the NZ wine industry,” he says. His assessment is spot on: this is as classy, long, lean, brittle and invigorating as any Dog Point Sauvignon I have tasted. The Wine Society has just received a shipment from New Zealand, and the prices seem incredibly keen. 

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Matthew Jukes

JancisRobinson.com

A certain stoniness on the nose, with less obvious struck-match character than the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc. Still very youthful and quite chewy on the finish. I'm pretty sure this will bloom into an ...
A certain stoniness on the nose, with less obvious struck-match character than the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc. Still very youthful and quite chewy on the finish. I'm pretty sure this will bloom into an even more interesting wine as 2021 progresses, gaining more fruit depth on the mid palate.
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16.5+/20 Jancis Robinson

JancisRobinson.com

This is one of my favourite producers of one of the world’s favourite wines. This NZ estate is run by members of the original Cloudy Bay set-up before its Sauvignon Blanc became ubiquitous....
This is one of my favourite producers of one of the world’s favourite wines. This NZ estate is run by members of the original Cloudy Bay set-up before its Sauvignon Blanc became ubiquitous. Fans of Coche-Dury white burgundies might like to seek out the 2019, which has even more of the Coche struck-match character.
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- Jancis Robinson

The Observer

If you’ve grown a little weary of what has become a supermarket staple, the latest immaculate vintage from Dog Point is a reminder of how good [sauvignon blanc] can be: just glorious luminous...
If you’ve grown a little weary of what has become a supermarket staple, the latest immaculate vintage from Dog Point is a reminder of how good [sauvignon blanc] can be: just glorious luminous purity of limey and white grapefruit citrus, a touch of gooseberry and subtle blossomy elderflower notes.
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- David Williams

Decanter

Powerful, precise and classic Dog Point sauvignon: stylish and mineral nose of citrus and tropical fruit and an abundance of fresh herbs. All the attributes displayed in the bouquet come alive on the ...
Powerful, precise and classic Dog Point sauvignon: stylish and mineral nose of citrus and tropical fruit and an abundance of fresh herbs. All the attributes displayed in the bouquet come alive on the silky, fresh, salivating and fruity palate. A lively, refreshing example; well made, lengthy and tasty. Organic.
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- Cameron Douglas

JancisRobinson.com

This is one of my favourite producers of one of the world’s favourite wines. This NZ estate is run by members of the original Cloudy Bay set-up before its Sauvignon Blanc became ubiquitous....
This is one of my favourite producers of one of the world’s favourite wines. This NZ estate is run by members of the original Cloudy Bay set-up before its Sauvignon Blanc became ubiquitous. Fans of Coche-Dury white burgundies might like to seek out the 2019, which has even more of the Coche struck-match character.
Read more

- Jancis Robinson

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